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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764953">Mom, am I still young?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toast_bastard/pseuds/Toast_bastard'>Toast_bastard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sokka the cool uncle [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hair Braiding, Hurt/Comfort, Its kya, No Beta, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Pregnant Katara (Avatar), Protective Sokka (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:54:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764953</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toast_bastard/pseuds/Toast_bastard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I wish she was here," she whispered, her hand on her lower stomach, "It's not fair. She-she should be here, giving me advice, helping me-" she choked, looking up at the ceiling and blinking hard. "What if-" she covered her hand with her mouth, and Sokka reached out, taking her free hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. She took a shaky breath. "What if something happens to me and-" she broke off again, shaking her head and sniffling. Sokka felt his heart sink into his stomach, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around his little sister. </p><p> </p><p>(Or, Katara deals with the fact that her mother won't be there when she has her first child, and the fear that she, too, will be gone before her children grow up)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sokka the cool uncle [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026210</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mom, am I still young?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title from Class of 2013 by Mitski because its the missing your mom anthem</p><p>part of a series, but reading the previous work is not required (although i suggest it)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka and the rest of the group had just returned from a hunting trip. As his dad got older and started going on less and less hunting trips, Sokka started unofficially leading them. He loved hunting now, especially when he wasn't the sole provider for the entire village. </p><p>"Hey Sokka," one of the men called out from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. </p><p>"Yeah, what's up?" he asked. The other man pointed forward, and Sokka followed where he was pointing to see Aang standing in the snow, waving him over. He frowned, giving his men the go-ahead to continue on without him before jogging over to his brother-in-law. </p><p>"Hey," Aang said, Momo sitting on his shoulder. Sokka smiled. </p><p>"Hey, everything okay?" he asked, masking the slight tinge of worry he felt. The two had come to visit about a few days ago, not only to announce to everyone (family, as least) the news of Katara's pregnancy, but also because Aang had some work to do at the Southern Air Temple. </p><p>"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just heading over to the Southern Air Temple to take care of a few things and, um, I was wondering if..." he trailed off, looking away. </p><p>"If what, Aang?" he asked, crossing his arms. Aang was always super bad at asking for things (his proposal was kind of a nightmare). </p><p>"Could you check in on Katara? Just like, make sure she's doing okay?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the snow. </p><p>"What?" Sokka laughed. Katara was <em>perfectly </em>capable of taking care of herself. "Why? She's an adult" he said pointedly, and Aang sighed.</p><p>"I know, she can take care of herself" he looked up at Sokka, his face visibly scrunched with worry "I- I just hate to leave her. A lot... a lot can happen this early on, and she's been hiding how bad she feels but she's been sick a <em>lot</em>, and-" Sokka put a hand on Aang's shoulder.</p><p>"Hey. I'll check in on her, okay? She's gonna be fine." he said, making his face look as reassuring as possible. Aang sighed, visibly relieved. </p><p>"Okay, okay, thank you" he breathed, opening his glider. He paused. "Maybe wait a few hours, though. She's sleeping." He said and Sokka laughed, nodding as the younger boy took off. </p><p>Sokka rejoined his group, waving to them as he walked over. He helped them put the kills of that day's hunt into crates where they would then be taken to be skinned and gutted, and thank spirits he didn't have to do <em>that</em> anymore. He left them to do their thing, then headed to the state house to see if his dad needed any help, hoping he did. He really did need more to do during the day. </p>
<hr/><p>After checking in with dad, he made his way over to Aang and Katara's guest house, the cold, dry air stinging his exposed skin. It had gotten colder all the sudden in the last hour, and he wasn’t a fan. He knocked on the door, his fingers numb against the wood. The door swung open, revealing Katara, wearing her usual outfit, minus the boots and belt, and one of Aang's robes thrown over her shoulders like a shawl. Her eyes looked tired and her hair was tangled, but her face brightened when she saw her brother. </p><p>“hey! Come in, it’s cold!” She exclaimed, pulling him inside. He sighed as the warm air filled his lungs, pulling off his gloves. Katara leaned back against the wall, observing him. “Aang send you to check on me?” She said, only a hint of annoyance in her voice. Sokka stopped, unable to remember if Aang had said to tell her or not, but considering Katara usually knew when he was lying (most people did- he was a bad liar most of the time), he nodded. She sighed, opening the door wider to let him in. </p><p>"How are you feeling?" he asked as he pulled off his gloves. Katara's smile faded, and she plopped down onto the couch.</p><p>"Honestly? Pretty shit. I'm <em>exhausted. </em>I'm keeping food down a little better, but still not great, and my head hurts right now" she groaned, putting her hands over her face. Sokka winced in sympathy. He could see why Aang wanted him to check on her. </p><p>"What can I do?" he asked, standing in the middle of the room, ready to help. </p><p>"Could you make me some tea? Please?" she asked softly, putting her hands down on her lap. He nodded. </p><p>"Of course. What kind?" he asked, walking over to their stove and placing the teapot on it. </p><p>"Ginger?" she asked softly, and he nodded, getting to work on her tea. He made it as quickly as he could while still properly steeping it and let it cool for a bit before walking back over to Katara, who was lying down on the couch. He set it down on the ground next to her once he realized she was asleep, but then thought better of it, and put it on the stove to keep warm. </p><p>While she was sleeping, he took out his sketchpad and worked on some plans for improving the village. Occasionally, Katara would stir, but she didn't wake for another hour. </p><p>Eventually, she sat up, pushing herself up onto her elbows. She looked around, her eyes half-open. </p><p>“How long was I out?” She asked groggily. Sokka smiled, going to go get her tea. </p><p>“About an hour. I kept your tea warm.” He said, handing her the cup. She smiled, gratefully accepting it and taking a long sip. He watched her as she set it down gently. <br/>
“How are you feeling now?” He asked gently as she shifted to sitting up fully. She sighed, attempting to run a hand through her tangled hair. </p><p>“Fine. My hair's a mess, though.” She sighed, her hand falling into her lap in defeat. </p><p>“Do you want me to help?” Sokka offered, and she paused before nodding, a small twinkle in her eyes. </p><p>“I have a comb upstairs on my nightstand” she called as he made his way up the stairs, which, compared to most stairs, were actually quite gentle on his knee. He found the comb, which was probably a gift from Aang, considering it’s ornate gold engraving and blue and yellow trim. He headed back downstairs, comb in hand. </p><p>“Fancy comb” he said, sitting down next to her. She laughed, turning so that her back was towards him, and he shifted so he was close enough to work on the tangles. He started with the biggest one, slowly working it through with the wide teeth of the ivory comb, apologizing when he pulled too hard on a knot. When he got most of that out, he switched to his fingers, carefully pulling the knots out. “Your hair has gotten long.” He said softly, noticing how it went past her waist. She nodded. </p><p>“It has. Could... could you braid it for me?” She asked, sounding fragile, and Sokka felt a twinge in his heart. He hadn’t braided her hair since they were kids, and the way her voice wavered told him she was thinking the same thing. He nodded.</p><p>"Of course. Do you have a ribbon?" he asked, and she silently handed him a blue ribbon over her shoulder. He took it, placing it on his knee while his hands wove her thick, long hair into a braid. She sighed when he stopped and tied it, a sigh of longing, her breath hitching in her chest. She turned towards him, and her eyes were shining as she put her arms around his neck. </p><p>"I miss mom" she gasped, and Sokka's walls broke down, his eyes burning with tears. He held her close, rubbing her back as her body shook with sobs.  </p><p>"I miss her too." he mumbled into her freshly braided hair, and she sobbed even harder, and he held her tighter, rubbing circles on her back in an attempt to calm her down. To him, this whole crying fit seemed to come out of nowhere, at least, until Katara pulled away, wiping the tears off of her pink cheeks. </p><p>"I wish she was here," she whispered, her hand on her lower stomach, "It's not fair. She-she should be here, giving me advice, helping me-" she choked, looking up at the ceiling and blinking hard. "What if-" she covered her hand with her mouth, and Sokka reached out, taking her free hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. She took a shaky breath. "What if something happens to me and-" she broke off again, shaking her head and sniffling. Sokka felt his heart sink into his stomach, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around his little sister. </p><p>"Katara, listen to me" he said softly, stroking her hair. "I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Dad won't let anything happen to you, and neither will anyone else. I mean, your husband is the avatar, for spirits sake" he said with a light chuckle, and it got her to smile, choking out a laugh. "And I know, I know that you wish she was here, and I do too. I wish she could see how strong and amazing you've become." he wiped her cheek with his thumb, and she smiled sadly, squeezing his other hand. </p><p>"Thank you, Sokka" she breathed, sniffling as she pulled away from him. "I know that you- you have a hard time talking about her. So, really, thank you." she whispered, touching her necklace. When Aang had proposed, he hadn't wanted her to have to stop wearing their mothers necklace, so he made a second charm out of stone that hung below the original one. She took a deep breath, and he did too, his own lungs feeling a little small. </p><p>"Always." he said, taking her other hand and squeezing it tightly. "She would be happy for you, I think," he said, looking into her round blue eyes. Out of the two of them, he resembled their mother more, his narrow face and freckled cheeks a perfect copy of hers, according to what he had been told. But Katara had her eyes, that he knew for sure. Their dad didn't have those big, longing eyes that were so full of hope, so full of love and care. He smiled, feeling his eyes fill with tears again, and he blinked them back quickly. "You're gonna be an amazing mom, Katara" he said with a sense of finality, and he could see her melt in front of him. She choked back a sob, nodding and pulling him into a tight embrace. </p><p>"I love you" she whispered as her tears fell on his shoulder, and he said nothing, only rubbing her back.</p><p>"I love you too," he said, kissing the top of her head like they were small again. Because for a moment, it felt like they were. </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A bit of a shorter one, but I wanted to explore how loosing a mother so young would maybe affect Katara's perception of motherhood for herself, and how her trauma would affect her</p><p>Comments and kudos appreciated</p></blockquote></div></div>
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